(Photo: Yahoo's "The Contender" Page)
The drama continued between Ishe and Ahmed, as they exchanged words during Ishe's sparring. They almost came to blows until Stallone had seen enough and sent Ahmed into his office to chill out.
After that stuff blew over, Sly then rewarded Alfonso for winning the first fight against Peter. His reward? A boxing glove pendant, similar to the one from Rocky V AND Alfonso gets to heal until after the seventh fight. That's a heck of a reward, and Alfonso definitely deserved it.
For winning the mission in the last episode, the West Coast team got to meet two-time heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman. The guys marked out, as Foreman has been a success in and out of the boxing ring (my momma got two of his grills). They talked in the gym, and a couple of them showed how well they could use the speed bag.
Afterwards, Foreman had a BBQ with them, and he dispensed knowledge on how to carry themselves and actually have a plan to move forward in their careers. "Plan your work, then work your plan" was Foreman's advice, meaning think things through, and then use your emotions and ambition to move forward. This really struck home with Ishe, and he started to feel as if he was being led into a fight with Ahmed, which could be a trap for him. This was where things started to change.
The mission this week had the teams in a football stadium, where they had to run up to the top of the stands, grab flags, and bring them back down to the base. The trick was that they couldn't run down with the flag until the whole team had gotten to the top and they couldn't go back up to get another one until the whole team was back on the field. Each time they brought a flag to the field one team member could stay until they had all five flags. Once they had all the flags, part two of the mission was a puzzle they had to figure out and complete. In the first part, East Coast actually finished first with the West not far behind, but the puzzle proved to be a little more difficult for the East. The West won another mission, which meant they got to pick the main event.
Of course, the West members automatically thought it would be the inevitable Ishe vs. Ahmed grudge match, but Ishe backed out, saying he didn't want to fight him right now because emotions were riding too high and he wants to wait it out. Jesse was obviously disgusted by this, and stepped up to fight.
So the main event was Jesse Brinkley vs. Jonathan Reid. Jesse, 28, had two kids with his girlfriend, Colleen in Nevada. Jonathan, 32, was a Nashville native who had 4 kids and one on the way, as his wife, Anna, was constantly shown as if she had a watermelon tucked under her shirt. So yeah; the baby making business is quite good.
The press conference had more sparks than last week, as not only did Ishe and Ahmed get into it again (the extended coverage of Ishe/Ahmed is on Yahoo's The Contender Page, as they didn't air their words on national television), but they also alienated themselves from their teams. Jesse and Ishe got into words because Jesse felt he chickened out. Ishe confronted Jesse right then and there at the table, and it looked as if they were about to get into it. Then out of nowhere Ahmed pops up at the table, and the East Coast members, tired of Ahmed's attitude, speaks their minds. All through this Jonathan was silent until one of the press journalists (I've seen her before but forgot her name, but she is hot) decides to get him to speak up, and he does a good job with the cliches. Jonathan came off as a pretty cool guy, and I thought he would win the fight.
In the fight (and please note; I saw the extended version on Yahoo), once again it seemed as if nervousness took another prisoner, as Jonathan simply was not busy enough and fell victim to combinations and counterpunches. He gave Jesse some trouble early in the fight, but he couldn't seem to get it together in the later rounds. Jesse won by a unaminous decision, and Jonathan had to walk that empty hall, trying to decide if he wanted to continue his boxing career.
At least Jonathan did have something to look forward to, as his wife had another baby girl. They didn't show the delivery on air, but the clips are online at Yahoo's The Contender Page. At least he'll have time to play with her now. It was a nice moment.
The Contender will move to it's permanent time, Sundays at 8:00 EST. I expect the drama to continue between Ishe vs. Ahmed vs. the rest of the fighters. In fact, that Ishe/Ahmed fight will probably happen sooner rather than later, as they will probably be pushed into it through the collusion of both teams. Should be interesting to watch.
My Other Contender Posts:
1. The Contender Quarterfinals: Ishe vs. Sergio
2. The Contender, Episode Eight: Jimmy vs. Joey
3. The Contender Episode Seven: Juan vs. Tarick
4. The Contender Episode Six: Anthony vs. Brent
5. The Contender Episode Three: Ishe vs. Ahmed
So the main event was Jesse Brinkley vs. Jonathan Reid. Jesse, 28, had two kids with his girlfriend, Colleen in Nevada. Jonathan, 32, was a Nashville native who had 4 kids and one on the way, as his wife, Anna, was constantly shown as if she had a watermelon tucked under her shirt. So yeah; the baby making business is quite good.
The press conference had more sparks than last week, as not only did Ishe and Ahmed get into it again (the extended coverage of Ishe/Ahmed is on Yahoo's The Contender Page, as they didn't air their words on national television), but they also alienated themselves from their teams. Jesse and Ishe got into words because Jesse felt he chickened out. Ishe confronted Jesse right then and there at the table, and it looked as if they were about to get into it. Then out of nowhere Ahmed pops up at the table, and the East Coast members, tired of Ahmed's attitude, speaks their minds. All through this Jonathan was silent until one of the press journalists (I've seen her before but forgot her name, but she is hot) decides to get him to speak up, and he does a good job with the cliches. Jonathan came off as a pretty cool guy, and I thought he would win the fight.
In the fight (and please note; I saw the extended version on Yahoo), once again it seemed as if nervousness took another prisoner, as Jonathan simply was not busy enough and fell victim to combinations and counterpunches. He gave Jesse some trouble early in the fight, but he couldn't seem to get it together in the later rounds. Jesse won by a unaminous decision, and Jonathan had to walk that empty hall, trying to decide if he wanted to continue his boxing career.
At least Jonathan did have something to look forward to, as his wife had another baby girl. They didn't show the delivery on air, but the clips are online at Yahoo's The Contender Page. At least he'll have time to play with her now. It was a nice moment.
The Contender will move to it's permanent time, Sundays at 8:00 EST. I expect the drama to continue between Ishe vs. Ahmed vs. the rest of the fighters. In fact, that Ishe/Ahmed fight will probably happen sooner rather than later, as they will probably be pushed into it through the collusion of both teams. Should be interesting to watch.
My Other Contender Posts:
1. The Contender Quarterfinals: Ishe vs. Sergio
2. The Contender, Episode Eight: Jimmy vs. Joey
3. The Contender Episode Seven: Juan vs. Tarick
4. The Contender Episode Six: Anthony vs. Brent
5. The Contender Episode Three: Ishe vs. Ahmed
